Container label



Feb. 2,-1937. R. E. HANSON 2,069,609

CONTAINER LABEL,

Filed Oct. 1, 195.

D m U 9 l5 slr Q U 25 H 7 I I INVENTOR.

BY MI TTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 2, 1937 UNITED STATES CONTAINER LABEL Roy E. Hanson, Wauwatosa, Wis, assignor to Milprint Products Corporation,

Milwaukee,

Wis., a corporation of Delaware Application October 1, 1934, Serial No. 746,335

3 Claims.

The present invention relates in general to improvements in the art of marking commodities as for identification purposes or otherwise, and relates more specifically to improvements in the production of labels and packages especially adapted for cooperation with segregated batches of various kinds of merchandise.

It has heretofore been common practice in the art of merchandising canned commodities to provide the metal containers with opaque and highly decorated external labels, in an endeavor to augment the attractiveness of the packages and to thereby promote the sales of the merchandise. These prior labels, being non-transparent, naturally concealed the major portion of the shiny and light reflective surfaces of the tin cans to which the labels were applied, and relied solely upon the decoration applied to the normally exposed surfaces of the labels themselves, to produce the desired decorative appearance. It is a well established fact that the visible attractiveness of the package in which commercial products are confined has a great deal to do with the salability of the merchandise, and in the case of canned goods, past efforts in enhancing the attractive appearance have been confined mainly to the pleasing configurations of the receptacles or to the decorations applied to the opaque labels which are in general 'use at the present time.

The present invention has for an object the production of an improved label especially applicable to a shiny surfaced, rigid container, whereby the attractive appearance of the final package is enhanced by a cooperative coaction of the label with the light reflective surface of the receptacle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container label having a normal, relatively unattractive finish before application thereof to the receptacle, but which will present a satiny and emblazoned appearance when applied to the final package.

A further object of the invention is to provide a transparent or translucent label having decorative or printed matter applied thereto either locally or thru-out its entire area, with the aid of transparent or translucent coloring matter, so that when the label is applied to a container, the latter will provide a background for enhancing the aesthetic appearance of the label.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved combination comprising a container having a rigid wall provided with a light reflective surface, and a transparent or translucent label having a decorated or colored area cooperating with the light reflective surface of the container to create a satiny external appearance.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a new and useful label of single thickness and of simple structure, especially applicable to metal, glass, porcelain, or similar rigid containers, preferably of circular shape, so as toenhance the aesthetic appearance of both the label and the container to produce a final, package having a sanitary and pleasing appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a highly effective label which may be produced at moderate cost, and which may also be conveniently applied to a container such as a tin can, a bottle, or a jar. r

These and other objects of the present inventic-n will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of one specific embodiment of the invention and of the mode of fabricating the improved labels and of applying the same to containers may be had by referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an ordinary tin can having one of the improved labels in fiat condition, positioned in front of the container,

preparatory to applying the label to the cylindrical, outer surface of the can; and

Fig. 2 is a similar perspective view of the finally assembled can and label.

While the invention has been shown and specifically described as being applied to a label formed of translucent glassine paper provided with decorative and printed 'matter produced with transparent ink, the label being associated with a cylindrical tin can, it is not intended to unnecessarily restrict the scope by such specific embodiment since the new and advantageous results may obviously be secured by varying certain characteristics of both the label and the conproduced with transparent or opaque coloring matter, such as ink, applied to the inner or outer face of the glassine sheet. The label 6 is preferably of sufficient length to completely encircle the can wall 5, and one end of the label is provided with an adhesive coating adapted to be attached to the opposite end, which this adhesive is capable of overlying.

In'order to apply the improved label 6 to a can 4, it is only necessary to wrap the finished label into snug coaction with the shiny outer surface of the wall 5 and to thereafter adhesively unite the overlapping label ends, and this may be done either before or after the container has been supplied with merchandise, but preferably thereafter. If the label 6 is brought into close proximity to the light reflective surface of the can 4, this surface reflects a certain amount of light thru the transparent andtranslucent label areas and thereby produces a satiny or emblazoned effect upon the eye of an observer and results in the production of pronounced high-lights and contrasting shadows which greatly enhance the aesthetic appearance of the package.

By a proper selection of colors and of transparent or'translucent areas, it is possible to produce marvelous aesthetic effects, and to even create pronounced perspective effects upon representations of objects such as fruits or vegetables pictorially displayed upon the label in translucent, natural coloring. The emblazoned effect produced by the shiny backgorund afforded by the rigid can wall 5 with which the label 6 snugly coacts, may be varied thru-out a great range, by changing the color and the degree of transparency of the coloring matter with which the designs or printing are applied, and may also be altered by varying the characteristics of the sheet of material from which the original label is produced. For example, Cellophane or other regenerated cellulosic material, or tissue paper, may be substituted for the glassine paper specifically shown and described, and the reflective outer surface of the container may be plated a bronze or a gold color, or may be left uncolored but shiny, as in the case of glass bottles or porcelain jars.

It is noteworthy that the best results are perhaps obtained by stretching the transparent or translucent label 6 into snug coaction with the light reflective surface of the container, 4, and this is more readily accomplished when a rigid, walled container is employed. By utilizing a label having water-proof characteristics, the use of specially treated cans may be eliminated since the label will, to some extent, perform the function of the special treatment. It has been found that cans having ordinary opaque labels applied thereto, when disposed on the shelves of a store and in relatively dimly lighted places, become duller in appearance due to the poor light; but with the improved labels, such surroundings and relative dim lighting have the effect pf increasing the brilliancy of the packages. The actual cost of producing the improved labels is exceedingly moderate due to the simplicity thereof, but the vastly improved aesthetic appearance created by the cooperation of these new labels with the final package has greatly increased the salability of the packages fabricated in accordance with the present invention.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the present invention to the exact details X shiny external light-reflective surface, and a label of highly translucent sheet'material having relatively less translucent areas, said label being confined in snug engagement with said wall whereby "light rays are reflected outwardly by the shiny surface through the label to produce a satiny appearance at the highly translucent area and to give the visual impression that said less translucent areas are applied directly to the container surface. B

2. An attractive and ornamental merchandizing package, comprising, a can having a preformed cylindrical rigid wall provided with a smooth and shiny curved external light-reflective surface, and a tinted label of highly translucent sheet material having relatively opaque characters thereon, said label being confined throughout its area in snug engagement with said wall whereby light rays are reflected outwardly by the shiny surface through the tinted label area to produce a satiny appearance with regular high-lights and contrasting shadows and to give the visual impression that said characters are applied directly to the can surface, the ends of said label being adhesively inter-connected to secure said label in position upon the can.

3. The method of producing illusory effects for display containers which consists in preforming a smooth polished rigid light reflecting metal wall surface and then closely applying to and over said wall surface in intimate smooth and uniform contact therewith, a flexible sheet of translucent material having display material thereon, whereby the contacting light reflecting wall surface and translucent sheet produce the visual effect of the display material on said sheet as being disposed directly upon the polished metal wall surface.

ROY E. HANSON. 

